Please help us continue to provide you with free, quality journalism by turning off your ad blocker on our site.

Thank you for signing in.

If this is your first time registering, please check your inbox for more information about the benefits of your Forbes account and what you can do next!

I agree to receive occasional updates and announcements about Forbes products and services. You may opt out at any time.

I'd like to receive the Forbes Daily Dozen newsletter to get the top 12 headlines every morning.

Forbes takes privacy seriously and is committed to transparency. We will never share your email address with third parties without your permission. By signing in, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Statement.

Designed by the competition’s winner—WATG’s Chicago-based Urban Architecture Studio that includes Daniel Caven, Chris Hurst, Miguel Alvarez and Brent Watanabe, this 800-square-foot single-family home will be built in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In keeping with the competition’s requirement of looking to the natural world for design inspiration, the home will be built in a location that celebrates Tennessee’s natural environment.Builtwith a dynamic, sleek cave-like form wrapping around a mostly glass-paneled structure consisting of a kitchen, a bathroom, a living area and a bedroom, “The exterior skin is derived from simple yet careful calculated archways that ultimately blends with the site leaving an organic presence,” said Platt Boyd, Founder and CEO at Branch Technology. What’s more, the house has eco-friendly features such as instant and passive heating and cooling strategies, sunlight shading, among others.

However, the most notable quality about the house is its construction. Made by freeform 3D printing—a process that allows for material to be created in open space like pulling a line of carbon fiber reinforced plastic through the air and it staying in place, it’s unlike traditional 3D printing involving a layer-by-layer build process typically limited to the confines of a 3D printer that has to be bigger than the object being printed.

(Photo credit: Daniel Caven/WATG Chicago Urban Architecture Studio)

According to Boyd, Branch Technology employs a unique construction method here called C-FAB (Cellular Fabrication) that takes its cues from the cellular composition of natural structures like a bone or tree, where a complex external geometry holds in a strong or functional material. What this means, is that “C-FAB uses the 3D printed plastic as the cellular geometry and conventional construction materials as the internal strength, function, and finish of a wall assembly,” he noted.

(Photo Credit: Branch Technology)

Using a 3D-printed matrix of carbon-reinforced
ABS plastic which could create more challenging forms and conventional building materials such as foam insulation and concrete, here’s how the house will be constructed. According to Caven, the initial design surfaces of the house will be broken down and optimized for printing the 3D cellular matrix. These portions will be grouped together to form a singular cohesive structure. Expanding spray foam and concrete will then be applied to the matrix to enhance its structural characteristics and form a weather barrier. Finally, additional components such as glazing and interior finishes will be installed.

(Photo credit: Daniel Caven/WATG Chicago Urban Architecture Studio)

While the primary vertical structure, roof, and large portions of the facade will be freeform 3D printed, the glass enclosure and interior finishes will be conventional construction, according to Alvarez. “Since the technology isn’t at a point where the entire house can be printed from a single machine, one of the biggest challenges will be successfully hybridizing the two systems of 3D printing and more conventional construction into a single house," noted Alvarez. “This will be tested and resolved with the robotic systems and technology used,” added Caven.

(Photo credit: Daniel Caven/WATG Chicago Urban Architecture Studi

Recognizing that 3D printing could deeply affect the future relationship between architecture, construction and manufacturing, Hurst believes that much work needs to be done before digital models could become a direct source for more intricate, final-built project. Meanwhile, the ‘Curve Appeal’ will be a demonstration piece for 3D printed architecture. Funded through Branch Technology’s supply chain partners, the final cost of construction is yet to be determined.

Beyond writing and building 22Carrots — a site where food and lifestyle collide — some of her favorite pastimes include sampling matcha desserts, ranking classic Kit Kats from around the world, and watching tennis (especially when Nadal is playing).